Hafeez defends out-of-form Afridi

Lahore, Oct 5: Pakistan skipper Mohammad Hafeez has defended all-rounder Shahid Afridi after former players have criticized his abilities following a dismal performance in World T20.

Afridi recorded his second duck on Thursday, as he got out to a poor shot off the first delivery he faced against Herath as Pakistan struggled to chase 140 on a slow track.

Following their loss to Sri Lanka by 16 runs, Pakistan failed to make it to the final of World T20 2012.

Afridi, has scored 30 runs off 6 matches at an average of 6, with a highest score of 14 in the tournament, while has not been good at bowling as he recorded 4 wickets off 6 outings, with 1/20 being his best in this edition of World T20.

Hafeez came to Afridi's rescue as he defended the all-rounder and said the latter is a match winner and cannot doubt his abilities.

"He is a match winner, there is no doubt about his abilities. But I think... he is really in a bad form at the moment," Hafeez said.

"He's really worked hard in the whole tournament, but unfortunately things didnt work for him. I can understand as a captain, as a player, when things dont work for you," he added.

"But he is a character, he is always a hard-worker and I think he is trying to come out of it (which) is a positive sign for us as a team. So thats the reason we have given him all the chances," he said.